Sheet stacking and pile separating apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

A sheet stacking and pile separating apparatus and method, wherein a conveyor supports and moves sheets in an imbricated stream relation and onto a stacking platform. A stop strips the sheets from their stream relation and stacks them on the platform. A sheet combined separator and stack displacer member is disposed adjacent the stream and moves into the stack to divide the stack into an end pile which is subsequently moved off the stack. A counter is disposed adjacent the stream for counting the sheets, and control members and switches are utilized for moving the separator member into the stack when a certain number of sheets have been accounted for and constitute the end pile to be separated. A retainer or stripper member is disposed adjacent the stack for holding the remainder of the stack when the end pile is removed, and the end pile is placed onto a transfer conveyor. The separator member is under the control of a cylinder and piston assembly which moves the separator into the stack and which withdraws the separator member and the end pile from the remainder of the stack, as mentioned.

United States Patent [191 Stobb [4 1 Feb. 18, 1975 SHEET STACKING ANDPILE SEPARATING APPARATUS AND METHOD [75] Inventor: Walter J. Stobb,Pittstown, NJ.

[73] Assignee: Stobb, Inc., Clinton, NJ.

[22] Filed: Oct. 11, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 405,688

Primary ExaminerM. Henson Wood, Jr. Assistant Examiner-Gene A. ChurchAttorney, Agent, or FirmArthur J. Hansmann [57] ABSTRACT A sheetstacking and pile separating apparatus and method, wherein a conveyorsupports and moves sheets in an imbricated stream relation and onto astacking platform. A stop strips the sheets from their stream relationand stacks them on the platform. A sheet combined separator and stackdisplacer member is disposed adjacent the stream and moves into thestack to divide the stack into an end pile which is subsequently movedoff the stack. A counter is disposed adjacent the stream for countingthe sheets. and control members and switches are utilized for moving theseparator member into the stack when a certain number of sheets havebeen accounted for and constitute the end pile to be separated. Aretainer or stripper member is disposed adjacent the stack for holdingthe remainder of the stack when the end pile is removed, and the endpile is placed onto a transfer conveyor. The separator member is underthe control of a cylinder and piston assembly which moves the separatorinto the stack and which withdraws the separator member and the end pilefrom the remainder of the stack, as mentioned.

22 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEU FEIBII s 1975 SHEET 10F 47 ISHEET 2 BF 4 P EMED 3.666.765

SHEU HOF 4 SHEET STACKING AND PILE SEPARATING APPARATUS AND METHOD Thisinvention relates to a sheet stacking and pile separating apparatus andmethod, and, more particularly, it relates to stacking and separating ofsheets which are deposited in a stream relation onto a conveyor by aprinting press or a folder, and the sheets are moved by the conveyor andare then collected in a stack and are counted and separated into pilesof selected numbers of sheets.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The sheet collecting and stacking art isalready aware of various apparatus and methods for supporting and movingsheets in an imbricated or shingled stream and then stripping the sheetsoff the stream to position them in a stack which can be removed, usuallyby hand. These prior art devices and methods commonly utilize a drumwhich is rotatable about a horizontal axis for directing and guiding thestream of sheets around the drum and up 'to a stack platform where thesheets are stripped from the stream and formed in a vertically growingstack. One example of such prior art is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.3,188,082, and another example is found in U.S. Pat. Re-issue No.26,004, and these two patents show the conveyance of sheets and thesubsequent stacking of the sheets in a substantially upwardly growingstack.

In addition to the aforementioned patents showing examples of thestacking ofa stream of sheets, the prior art has also been concernedabout the separation of selected portions of the stack of sheets. Oneexample of that is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,233,850 where relativelyelaborate mechanism is utilized for collecting the imbricated stream inseparated piles or stacks.

Still further, the prior art has also already utilized devices forcounting the sheets, or regulating the size of a stack of sheets, priorto removing that stack from the collecting platform. Still further, theprior art has utilized apparatus for interrupting the flow of the streamof sheets to collect and stack a certain number of the sheets, and thenpermit the flow of sheets to continue, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,149,834 and3,194,127 show the counting apparatus and the interrupting apparatusmentioned above.

Thus, the prior art is concerned with the collecting of sheets in pilesor stacks of certain quantities of the sheets, and it is also concernedwith separating a stack into end piles or smaller stacks for removalfrom the main stack. In doing this, the prior art has utilized sepa-.rator blades wherein the stack moves into the blade for effecting theseparation, such as seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,055,516 and 3,206,042.Still further, the prior art is aware of the arrangement wherein a blademoves into a stationary stack, and examples of this are found in U.S.Pat. Nos. 3,690,476 and 3,017,041 and 3,672,516.

In the aforementioned prior art examples, the concern is to collect thesheets in a stack but to have the sheets counted and separated intostacks of selected numbers of sheets, and to do this in an automaticfashion. Of course there have been manual operations where a person caninsert a separator or can remove a portion of the stack manually, butthe present invention is concerned with an automated system where anaccurate number of sheets can be separated from the collected stack ofsheets, and this is the primary object of this invention.

Another object of this invention is to provide apparatus and a methodfor stacking and then separating a portion of the stack into a specifiedor selected number of sheets and to do so with efficient and inexpensivebut yet highly reliable apparatus and corresponding methods. Stillfurther, in accomplishing this object, the in vention described hereinis adaptable to the stacking apparatus already in existence, and thusthis invention is applicable to the existing apparatus, and may be anaddition thereto, for performing the function of accurately counting andseparating the counted pile of sheets.

Another object of this invention is to provide the aforementionedapparatus and method wherein the apparatus requires no supervision andno manual labor. and it is adjustable to separating out a selectednumber of sheets in each stack, and there is no damage done to thesheets which are being handled by this apparatus and method. Also, theseparated stack and the remaining stack are kept in a neat form, so thatthey can be properly and neatly handled by other apparatus, or for thepurpose of bundling or tying or whatever.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon reading thefollowing description in light of the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1 through 4 are side elevationalviews of an embodiment of this invention, shown somewhatdiagramatically.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1through 4, with parts removed and parts added thereto.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side elevational view of the apparatus shown inFIGS. 1 through.4, with parts removed and parts added thereto.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are top plan views of portions of the apparatus shown inFIGS. 1 through 6.

FIG. 9 is a wiring diagram for the electrical components of theapparatus shown in FIGS. 1 through 8.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the parts and the wiring diagram andelectrical components of this inventron.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIGS. 1 through 4 showthe arrangement of a conveyor 10 which is movable in the direction ofthe arrows shown thereon and which supports an imbricated stream ofsheets 11 which are shown in shingled or overlapped relation with thesheet leading edges on the top of the stream in the horizontal positionshown in FIG. 1. A drum 12 is rotatably mounted, and the conveyor 10 ispreferably in the form of conveyor belts which are trained around thedrum and which carry the stream of sheets 11 against a conveyor belt 13.The conveyors l0 and 13 are trained around the drum l2, and the conveyor13 extends around rotatable supports or pulleys l4 and moves in thedirection of the arrows shown thereon. Thus the conveyors 10 and 13 arepreferably in the form of endless belts which carry the stream of sheets11 therebetween and around the drum l2, and the conveyor 10 moves awayfrom the drum l2 and around the roller 16, and the conveyor 10 moves offin the section 17 and in the direction of the arrow shown thereon. Thatis, FIG. 5 shows the dotted line 18 1 which indicates the endless natureof the conveyor as its section 17 moves around to the horizontalposition to again collect the sheets 11 as they are deposited onto theconveyor 10 in the usual manner, such as that shown and described insome of the patents cited herein.

The stream of sheets 11 is thus led around the drum 12 and to the topthereof and onto a stacking platform 18 which is horizontally disposed,and a stop 19 extends down to the platform and into the path of thestream of sheets to strip the sheets off their stream relation and causethem to form into the stack 21, as shown.

The aforementioned is already known in the art, and no furtherdescription thereof is necessary for one skilled in theart to understandthe present teaching.

FIGS. 1 through 4 further show a combined separator and stack displacermember 22 which is disposed above the incoming stream of sheets 11 andwhich is movable from the position shown in FIG. 1 and to the sequentialpositions of FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 and back to the position shown in FIG. 1.Thus, under suitable control means which are not shown in FIGS. 1through 5, the member 22 is positioned above the stream of sheets 11 atthe top of the drum 12, as shown in FIG. 1, and the member 22 movesintothe stack 21 to the position shown in FIG. 2. The stream of sheets 11 isa continuous stream and thus the sheets 11 continue to form and increasethe height of the stack 21, as shown in FIG. 3, and thus an end pile orstack 23 is defined by the member 22, and the stack 21 grows in itsheight and the member 22 moves upwardly with the growth of the stack, asshown by FIG.-3. Finally, the member 22 is withdrawn and it therebymoves the end pile 23 to the position shown in FIG. 4 to displace theend pile 23 from the remainder of the stack 21 and to thus position theend pile 23 onto a transfer conveyor 24 which is also preferably a belttype of conveyor moving in the direction of the arrows shown thereon andhaving a supporting surface or platform 26, as shown. From the positionof the member 22 in FIG. 4, the member falls or is lowered through anopening in the center portion of the supporting plate 26, and a support27 can hold the member 22 upwardly while the member 22 is repositionedto the position in FIG. 1 and is ready for reinsertion into the stackfor separating the next pile.

FIG. 5 shows two separated end piles 23, and it will be understood thatthe insertion and withdrawal of the member 22 can be timed so that theend piles 23 will all contain the same number of sheets, as desired.FIG. 5 also shows that the transfer conveyor 24 is controlled by adriven pulley 28 which is rotatably driven by a driving pulley 29 whichis conventionally powered by a motor not shown. A belt 30 drivinglyextends between the pulleys 28 and 29, and a roller 35 is driven bypulley 29 and the conveyor belt portion 17 is trained on roller 35.Conveyor 24 is driven through larger pulley 28 which drives a roller 33carrying the conveyor 24, so the conveyor 24 is moved at a slower speedand thus the end piles 23 are slowly moved to have desired spacingbetween, as shown in FIG. 5. Also, a driving motor 31 has a driving belt32 extending to the drum 12 for rotating the drum in thecounterclockwise direction and for moving the conveyors l0 and 13 whichare trained over the drum 12. Thus, the conveyors l0 and 13 can bedriven in the manner described or in other manners, and the conveyor 24can also be driven by having its pulley or roller 33 rotatable with thepulley 28 to move the conveyor 24 at a slower speed, or any other drivearrangement can be utilized for the conveyor 24 which is trained on therollers 33 and 34, as shown.

Also, the roller 16 is disposed at the entrance of the stream of sheets11 into the stack 21, and it is a brush roller which contacts the edgesof the sheets which are in the stack 21 and causes the edges to bedisplaced upwardly, as shown by the edges 36 in FIG. 3, and this permitsthe member 22 to readily enter the stack 21, and the member 22 may moveinto the stack along with the movement of the stream of sheets 11. Itwill of course be understood that the brush roller 16 always contactsthe edge of the stack and thus brushes the sheet edges 36 upwardly sothat the wedge-shaped member 22 can readily enter the stack 21.,

FIGS. 5, 6, and 8 show pairs of pivotal links 37 and 38 which supportthebrush roller 16 to positionthe brush roller 16 on top of the stream 11and in contact with the stack 21 as shown and described in connectionwith FIG. 3. The link 37 is pivoted on the shaft 39 which supports thepulley 29, and the links 37 and 38 are pivoted together by means of thejoining pin 41, as shown. These arms 37 and 38 can then be placed intoadjusted position and secured in a non-pivotal position so that thebrush roller 16 will bear down on the stream 11 and against the edge ofthe stack 21, for forcing the stream into the stack and for brushing thesheet edges 36, as mentioned.

FIG. 6 further shows that the member 22 is pivotally connected to apowered member 42 which is shown to be a cylinder and piston assemblyconnected to the member 22 through the pivot pin 43, and the assembly 42is pivotally mounted at the pin 44 to the frame 46 of this apparatus.Thus the assembly 42 can pivot up and down about the pin 44, andlikewise the assembly 42 and the member 22 are pivoted together so thata complete articulated assembly is provided and the leading and pointednose end 47 of the member 22 is thus positioned as shown and describedso that is can move into the stack 21 as mentioned. That is, extensionof the assembly 42 will cause the member 22 to move into the stack andinto the position shown in FIG. 2, and the pivot pins 43 and 44 willpermit the member 22 to ride upwardly with the stack, to the positionshown in FIG. 3. Finally, contraction of the assembly 42 will withdrawthe member 22 and the end pile 23, to the position shown in FIG. 4.Therefore, the cylinder and piston assembly 42 are shown to be adouble-acting type having fluid inlet and fluid outlet hoses 48 and 49,arranged in the conventional manner for the fluid assembly shown.

To permit the movement of the parts and the performance of the methodpreviously described, the brush roller 16 and the supporting plate 26are both discontinuous so that the member 22 and the cylinder assembly42 can move in the manners described. That is, FIG. 8 shows the brushroller 16 is actually in two axially spaced apart sections 16a and 16b,to provide the center space designated S through which the member 22 canmove in making the cycle described in connection with FIGS. 1 through 4.FIG. 7 shows the support plate 26 to be in two sections 260 and 26b andhaving the space designated T therebetween for the movement of thecylinder assembly 42 and the member 22. Also, it will be seen that themember 22 is a narrow member and occupies only a small fraction of theentire width of the sheets 11 which can be as wide as spanning all fourof the transfer conveyor belts 24 as seen in FIG. 7. FIGS. 6 and 7further show that abutment or stripper members 51 are fixedly disposedon the portions 52 of the apparatus frame and are available for engagingthe remainder of the stack 21 when the upper end pile 23 is beingwithdrawn from the stack.

It should also be understood that the member 22 may be moved into thestack 21 either at the speed of the incoming stream or at a fasterspeed, if desired, and there could he controls operative on the member22 for the speed of the movement, and also for the timing of themovement so that when a certain number of sheets are in the end pilesection 23, as determined either by count or by pile height, then themember 22 would be inserted into the stack. FIG. 9 shows a diagramaticview for achieving this, and there could be a sheet counter switch whichisdesignated 53, and when the counter switch 53 is closed it makes onlya momentary electric contact and switches 54 and 56 will also then closeas these switches are internal to the entire relay which is designated57. The switch 54 is of a nature to serve as a holding circuit andanother switch 58 is then also closed.'A solenoid valve coil 59 is alsoin the circuit, and, when the switches are closed, the solenoid valve 59is closed and this valve controls a fluid supply for the cylinderassembly 42 to thus cause flow into the line 49 and to advance themember 22 into the stack. Switch 58 is thus held closed as the member 22rides up to the position shown in FIG. 3. At that time, the switch 58 istripped open, and this opens the holding circuit described and causesthe cylinder assembly 42 to retract .and move to the position shown inFIG. 4. To do this,

FIGS. 6 and 7 show the switch 58 to be mounted adjacent the cylinderassembly 42 and to have a switching button 61 in the path of movement ofthe arm 62 affixed to the assembly 42 such that when the assembly 42 ispivoted upwardly, the arm 62 contacts the button 61 to open the switch58 and cause the retracting action described. It will now be understoodthat the switch 58 will not be tripped until the member 22 is above thetransfer support 26 and its-conveyor 24, so that the end pile 23 will beplaced on top of the transfer members 24 and 26, as shown in FIG. 4. Itwill also be understood that the switches 53, 54, and 56 are normallyopen switches and the switch 58 is a normally closed switch, and FIG. 9shows the power line 63 which can carry a 115 volt single-phase 60-cyclecurrent. Also, the counter used can be a Durant brand predeterminingbatch counter, series No. 2,000, and the solenoid valve can be a Bachmanbrand No. MS-45, and the switch 58 can be a micro switch No. BZ-ZRQ- A2.

FIG. diagramatically and schematically further shows the apparatus withthe controls and switches, and it will be noted that the switch 53 is acounter switch and has a counter member 83 which is shown on the streamof sheets 11 for counting the sheets in the stream of sheets 11, and italso has a digital display means at 84 for showing the count of thesheets. This counter, generally designated 53, can be a conventionaltype, such as that already mentioned, and it is shown connectedelectrically to the power line designated 63. FIG. 10 also shows therelay 57 and the two switches 54 and 56 and it shows the micro switch58. The switch 56 is shown connected to the solenoid valve or member 59which controls the supply of fluid to the flexible fluid lines 48 and 49through the diverting block or fluid valve 86 which can be of aconventional construction. Further, a fluid regulator valve 87 is shownconnected in the fluid line 88 for controlling the flow of fluid passingthrough the valve 87 and into the lines 48 and 49 for controlling thespeed of insertion and retraction of the member 22, all according to thesetting of the valve 87, and preferably the system works with compressedair so that the flow of the air through the valve 87 can be controlledto control the speed of movement of the member 22. With the arrangementdescribed, the counter 53 is one which can be and would be set for acertain number of sheets to beregistered on the counter and then thecounter switch would close and actuate the circuit in the mannerpreviously described. The count sensor or finger 83 can be one made bythe company Eburn Inc., and the electronic digital counter member 53 isthe one made by the company Durant Inc., as previously mentioned.

The foregoing description includes the description of the apparatus andthe method and it will therefore be understood that the method includesthe steps of supporting and conveying the imbricated stream of sheets 11and collecting the stream in a stack 21 and'positioning the member 22adjacent the stack and inserting the member 22 into the stack and thenretracting the member 22 with the separated end pile 23 of the sheets.Also, the method includes the engagement of the remainder of the stackby the stripper members 51, for retaining the remainder of the stack ina neatly aligned stack when the end pile is being separated and placedonto a transfer conveyor, all as described herein.

What is claimed is:

l. A sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus comprising a conveyorfor supporting sheets in a horizontal orientation and an imbricatedrelation and moving said sheets in a stream relation in the direction ofthe imbrication, a stop disposed at the downstream end of the stream inthe path of movement of said sheets for strip ping said sheets fromtheir stream relation and causing them to form a stack of said sheets, astack platform disposed adjacent said stop for receiving and supportingsaid stack, a combined separator and stack displacer member movablymounted directly above the stream and being movable along with saidstream for movement of said member into said stack in the direction ofmovement of the stream of sheets and thereby separating the end of saidstack into an end pile of said sheets, and a powered member connected tosaidcom bined separator and stack displacer member for displacing saidend pile from the remainder of said stack.

2. The sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus as claimed in claim 1,wherein said combined separator and stack displacer member includes apointed nose portion in contact with the stream for riding on saidstream and into said stack, said combined separator and stack displacermember and said powered member being articularly mounted for positioningsaid combined separator and stack displacer member on said stream andfor movement of the latter said member in the direction of the growth ofsaid stack.

3. The sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus as claimed in claim 1,wherein said powered member is a cylinder and piston assemblyarticularly connected to said combined separator and stack displacermember.

4. The sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus as claimed in claim 1,including power controls operatively connected to said powered memberfor synchronizing the movement of said combined separator and stackdisplacer member into said stack according to the quantity of saidsheets moving into said stack, for defining a selected quantity of saidsheets in said end pile.

5. The sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus as claimed in claim 1,including a movable transfer support disposed adjacent said stack forreceiving said end pile, and power controls operatively connected tosaid powered member for moving said combined separator and stackdisplacer member and said end pile to said transfer support.

6. The sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus as claimed in claim 5,wherein said transfer support has an opening therein and providessupport surfaces for said sheet pile on opposite sides of said opening,and said combined separator and stack displacer separator member is of awidth less than that of said opening for movement of the latter saidmember through said opening in the depositing of said end pile on saidsupport surfaces.

7. The sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus as claimed in claim 5,wherein said movable transfer support includes spaced-apart conveyorbelts for moving said end pile away from the remainder of said stack.

8. The sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus as claimed in claim 5,wherein said powered member is a cylinder and piston assembly pivotallymounted directly above said stream of sheets for pivotal movement inaccordance with the growth of said stack, and said power controlsincluding a switch mounted adjacent said assembly and having a tripmember engageable with said assembly when said assembly pivots to aselected position, said switch being operatively connected with saidassembly for controlling the operation of said assembly when tripped bythe pivotal action of said assembly.

9. The sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus as claimed in claim 1,including two spaced-apart brush rollers rotatably disposed at theentrance of said stream to said stack for moving the edges of saidsheets in said stack away from said stream to form an opening for theinsertion of said combined separator and stack displacer member intosaid stack, and said combined separator and stack displacer member beingofa width less than the dimension of the spacing between said rollersfor movement of the latter said member between said rollers.

10. The sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus as claimed in claim1, including a sheet counter disposed adjacent said stream for countingthe sheets moving in said stream, and trippable controls operativelyassociated with said powered member to actuate said powered member andmove said combined separator and stack displacer member relative to saidstack, said counter and said trippable controls being operativelyconnected together for operatively tripping said trippable controls inaccordance with the number of said sheets counted by said counter.

11. The sheet stackerand pile separator apparatus as claimed in claim10, wherein said counter and said separator member are disposed incontact with said sheets in said stream, and said combined separator andstack displacer member includes a pointed end for movement with saidstream into said stack.

12. The sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus as claimed in claim1, wherein said powered member is a cylinder and piston assembly, afluid valve operatively connected with said assembly for actuation ofthe latter, a first switch operatively connected with said valve forcontrolling the latter in the insertion of said combined separator andstack displacer member into said stack, a second switch operativelyconnected with said valve for controlling the latter while said combinedseparator and stack displacer member is in said stack, and

a third switch operatively connected with said valve for controlling thelatter for the movement of said combined separator and stack displacermember and said end pile away from the remainder of said stack, andconnectors extending between all said switches to have all said switchesinterconnected with each other.

13. The sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus as claimed in claim12, wherein said third switch is a trippable switch disposed adjacentsaid assembly in' the path of movement of said assembly to be actuatedby movement of said assembly in the growth of the stack.

14. The sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus as I claimed in claim1, including controls operatively connected with said powered member foractuating the latter and thereby inserting said combined separator andstack displacer member into said stack, said controls including a timingmember for operation of said powered member in accordance with the speedof movement of said stream.

15. The sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus as claimed in claim1, including a stripper member disposed adjacent said stack for engagingsaid remainder of said stack when said end pile is being removed.

16. Apparatus for performing the steps of stacking sheets and thenseparating an end pile of the sheets from the stack, comprising meansfor supporting and moving sheets in an imbrieated relation of ahorizontally disposed stream of said-sheets and with the trailing edgeof the said sheets which are on top of the stream being spaced from thetrailing edge of the said sheets which are on the bottom of the streamand with the said top sheets being in the forward direction of streammovement, means for stripping said sheets off their stream relation andforming said sheets into a stack, means for dividing said stack to forman end pile of said sheets, and means for positioning said dividingmeans on the top of said stream in contact with said stream between saidtrailing edges and subsequently inserting said dividing means into saidstack along with the movement of said stream into said stack to definesaid end pile and subsequently moving said dividing means and said endpile away from the remainder of said stack.

17. A sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus comprising a conveyorfor supporting sheets in a horizontal orientation and an imbrieatedrelation and moving said sheets in a stream relation in the direction ofthe imbrication, a stop disposed at the downstream end of the stream inthe path of movement of said sheets for stripping said sheets from theirstream relation and causing them to form a stack of said sheets, a stackplatform disposed adjacent said stop for receiving and supporting saidstack, a combined separator and stack displacer member movably mountedadjacent said stack for insertion into said stack of sheets and therebyseparating the end of said stack into an end pile of said sheets, and apowered member connected to said commovement of said sheets into saidstack to define an 7 end pile of said sheets in said stack, and removingsaid divider from said stack to remove said end pile.

19. The method of stacking sheets and then separating an end pile fromthe stack as claimed in claim 18, including the step of counting saidsheets with a counter means before moving said divider into said stack,to define a selected number of said sheets in said end pile.

20. The method of stacking sheets and then separating an end'pile fromthe stack as claimed in claim 18, including the step of restraining theremainder of said stack relative to said end pile while said divider andsaid end pile are being removed from said stack.

21. The method of stacking sheets and then separating an end pile fromthe stack as claimed in claim 18, including the step of moving the edgesof the said sheets in said stack away from the said sheets in saidstream and providing an opening for the movement of said divider intosaid stack.

22. The method of stacking sheets and then separating an end pile fromthe stack as claimed in claim 18, including the step of retaining saiddivider in said stack until said stack is increased in size, and thestep of sliding said end pile off said stack and onto a moving supportfor moving said end pile away from the remainder of said stack.

1. A sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus comprising a conveyorfor supporting sheets in a horizontal orientation and an imbricatedrelation and moving said sheets in a stream relation in the direction ofthe imbrication, a stop disposed at the downstream end of the stream inthe path of movement of said sheets for stripping said sheets from theirstream relation and causing them to form a stack of said sheets, a stackplatform disposed adjacent said stop for receiving and supporting saidstack, a combined separator and stack displacer member movably mounteddirectly above the stream and being movable along with said stream formovement of said member into said stack in the direction of movement ofthe stream of sheets and thereby separating the end of said stack intoan end pile of said sheets, and a powered member connected to saidcombined separator and stack displacer member for displacing said endpile from the remainder of said stack.
 2. The sheet stacker and pileseparator apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said combinedseparator and stack displacer member includes a pointed nose portion incontact with the stream for riding on said stream and into said stack,said combined separator and stack displacer member and said poweredmember being articularly mounted for positioning said combined separatorand stack displacer member on said stream and for movement of the lattersaid member in the direction of the growth of said stack.
 3. The sheetstacker and pile separator apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidpowered member is a cylinder and piston assembly articularly connectedto said combined separator and stack displacer member.
 4. The sheetstacker and pile separator apparatus as claimed in claim 1, includingpower controls operatively connected to said powered member forsynchronizing the movement of said combined separator and stackdisplacer member into said stack according to the quantity of saidsheets moving into said stack, for defining a selected quantity of saidsheets in said end pile.
 5. The sheet stacker and pile separatorapparatus as claimed in claim 1, including a movable transfer supportdisposed adjacent said stack for receiving said end pile, and powercontrols operatively connected to said powered member for moving saidcombined separator and stack displacer member and said end pile to saidtransfer support.
 6. The sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus asclaimed in claim 5, wherein said transfer support has an opening thereinand provides support surfaces for said sheet pile on opposite sides ofsaid opening, and said combined separator and stack displacer separatormember is of a width less than that of said opening for movement of thelatter said member through said opening in the depositing of said endpile on said support surfaces.
 7. The sheet stacker and pile separatorapparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said movable transfer supportincludes spaced-apart conveyor belts for moving said end pile away fromthe remainder of said stack.
 8. The sheet stacker and pile separatorapparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said powered member is acylinder and piston assembly pivotally mounted directly above saidstream of sheets for pivotal movement in accordance with the growth ofsaid stack, and said power controls including a switch mounted adjacentsaid assembly and having a trip member engageable with said assembLywhen said assembly pivots to a selected position, said switch beingoperatively connected with said assembly for controlling the operationof said assembly when tripped by the pivotal action of said assembly. 9.The sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus as claimed in claim 1,including two spaced-apart brush rollers rotatably disposed at theentrance of said stream to said stack for moving the edges of saidsheets in said stack away from said stream to form an opening for theinsertion of said combined separator and stack displacer member intosaid stack, and said combined separator and stack displacer member beingof a width less than the dimension of the spacing between said rollersfor movement of the latter said member between said rollers.
 10. Thesheet stacker and pile separator apparatus as claimed in claim 1,including a sheet counter disposed adjacent said stream for counting thesheets moving in said stream, and trippable controls operativelyassociated with said powered member to actuate said powered member andmove said combined separator and stack displacer member relative to saidstack, said counter and said trippable controls being operativelyconnected together for operatively tripping said trippable controls inaccordance with the number of said sheets counted by said counter. 11.The sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus as claimed in claim 10,wherein said counter and said separator member are disposed in contactwith said sheets in said stream, and said combined separator and stackdisplacer member includes a pointed end for movement with said streaminto said stack.
 12. The sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said powered member is a cylinder and pistonassembly, a fluid valve operatively connected with said assembly foractuation of the latter, a first switch operatively connected with saidvalve for controlling the latter in the insertion of said combinedseparator and stack displacer member into said stack, a second switchoperatively connected with said valve for controlling the latter whilesaid combined separator and stack displacer member is in said stack, anda third switch operatively connected with said valve for controlling thelatter for the movement of said combined separator and stack displacermember and said end pile away from the remainder of said stack, andconnectors extending between all said switches to have all said switchesinterconnected with each other.
 13. The sheet stacker and pile separatorapparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein said third switch is atrippable switch disposed adjacent said assembly in the path of movementof said assembly to be actuated by movement of said assembly in thegrowth of the stack.
 14. The sheet stacker and pile separator apparatusas claimed in claim 1, including controls operatively connected withsaid powered member for actuating the latter and thereby inserting saidcombined separator and stack displacer member into said stack, saidcontrols including a timing member for operation of said powered memberin accordance with the speed of movement of said stream.
 15. The sheetstacker and pile separator apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including astripper member disposed adjacent said stack for engaging said remainderof said stack when said end pile is being removed.
 16. Apparatus forperforming the steps of stacking sheets and then separating an end pileof the sheets from the stack, comprising means for supporting and movingsheets in an imbricated relation of a horizontally disposed stream ofsaid sheets and with the trailing edge of the said sheets which are ontop of the stream being spaced from the trailing edge of the said sheetswhich are on the bottom of the stream and with the said top sheets beingin the forward direction of stream movement, means for stripping saidsheets off their stream relation and forming said sheets into a stack,means for dividing said stack to form an end pile of said sheets, andmeans for pOsitioning said dividing means on the top of said stream incontact with said stream between said trailing edges and subsequentlyinserting said dividing means into said stack along with the movement ofsaid stream into said stack to define said end pile and subsequentlymoving said dividing means and said end pile away from the remainder ofsaid stack.
 17. A sheet stacker and pile separator apparatus comprisinga conveyor for supporting sheets in a horizontal orientation and animbricated relation and moving said sheets in a stream relation in thedirection of the imbrication, a stop disposed at the downstream end ofthe stream in the path of movement of said sheets for stripping saidsheets from their stream relation and causing them to form a stack ofsaid sheets, a stack platform disposed adjacent said stop for receivingand supporting said stack, a combined separator and stack displacermember movably mounted adjacent said stack for insertion into said stackof sheets and thereby separating the end of said stack into an end pileof said sheets, and a powered member connected to said combinedseparator and stack displacer member for displacing said end pile fromthe remainder of said stack.
 18. A method of stacking sheets and thenseparating an end pile from the stack, comprising the steps ofsupporting and moving sheets in an imbricated relation of a horizontallydisposed stream of said sheets, stopping said sheets in their streammovement and forming a stack of said sheets, positioning a stack dividerdirectly on top of said stream at a location adjacent said stack, movingsaid divider into said stack along with the movement of said sheets intosaid stack to define an end pile of said sheets in said stack, andremoving said divider from said stack to remove said end pile.
 19. Themethod of stacking sheets and then separating an end pile from the stackas claimed in claim 18, including the step of counting said sheets witha counter means before moving said divider into said stack, to define aselected number of said sheets in said end pile.
 20. The method ofstacking sheets and then separating an end pile from the stack asclaimed in claim 18, including the step of restraining the remainder ofsaid stack relative to said end pile while said divider and said endpile are being removed from said stack.
 21. The method of stackingsheets and then separating an end pile from the stack as claimed inclaim 18, including the step of moving the edges of the said sheets insaid stack away from the said sheets in said stream and providing anopening for the movement of said divider into said stack.
 22. The methodof stacking sheets and then separating an end pile from the stack asclaimed in claim 18, including the step of retaining said divider insaid stack until said stack is increased in size, and the step ofsliding said end pile off said stack and onto a moving support formoving said end pile away from the remainder of said stack.